Ummm, running a bit rough, naturally, checked for vacuum leaks. None noted. Evidentially I have a spark leak, cause POW!!!!....sprayed the back of the carb near dizzy wires and she fluffed up in my face. Had a fire bottle in the car, so no damage. Gotta get an air cleaner and perhaps new plug wires. Always have a fire bottle. Half second squirt and the fire was out. Oh but what a mess. Engine needs a bath now. Good news is the test ride for suspension upgrade went well. Rides like it's on rails now. No more bouncing around in the car like a turd in the wash machine! 82-02 Camaro sway bar on 71 Chevelle 12 bolt in a 37 Dodge. Evening update...Checked her out in the dark. No 6 plug wire is leaking electric power. Looks like a dancing glow worm from cap to plug. That should account for the loss of power, miss fire and the flaming engine. $40 fix. I'll get on it tomorrow.
Always one in the trunk. In the past shows would not allow you in without one and during the show it had to be located at the left front tire.
Stopped at Walmart last night. They didn't have the traditional red bottles but a smaller paint can size for $10 ea. I'm going to get one and try it. Would be fine to toss a couple in the glove boxes of my newer factory stuff
Hello, Sorry for your situation. Fire in any gasoline area is a danger as we know first hand. Luckily, you were able to put out the fire quickly. We emptied several large red cannisters onto our 671 supercharged motor in our 1940 Willys Coupe fire, which shut down the motor area fire, fast. similar motor set up But, the interior of the cab where the Moon Aluminum Tank was installed had such a flame and continued source of gas just coming into/out of the melting tank, created a god awful sight and power. It took at least 4 large canisters and still fire was burning. Our motor looked slightly white, but later cleaned up with a minimum of effort. similar installation in a Corvette with the Moon Tank… I can see your motor also had “coverage” with the extinguisher stuff. It smothers the fire, but leaves a mess. The interior of our Willys Coupe was a nightmare and since we were going to take the whole thing, minus the motor/trans/running gear out, left it like it snowed inside in a miracle storm. Extinguishers had little effect on the gasoline fed fire. These days, there is a better solution and space saving access to a fire suppressant… with no residue. We have several, but do not want to use them, ever. Jnaki There was an informational thread about the latest in fire suppressants. No more white snow all over everything and the fire goes out just as fast, if not faster. No fire, no residue for clean up like the common red cannisters we see everywhere… what is not to like? So, with new technology being brought out recently, the Element Fire Extinguisher is now in our hands and garage. @kabinenroller has a good looking set up, the built in clip is easy to pull out any time. “My wife now knows what to do if she needs the Element Extinguisher in the garage, in case I am not around. But, for our fire zone insurance purposes, a regular white powder red cannister extinguisher was also mounted in the same area. (in So Cal and elsewhere, we are close to the brush. So, the insurance companies can raise insurance costs because of it) Not that we would ever use/need it. Note: we also have ceiling fire sprinklers in the garage and whole house for back up. It all helps in the long run...YRMV Emergency shut off center in the easy access corner of our garage. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ew-under-the-sun.1223197/page-4#post-14183741
Thanks for the reminder. When I worked at an auto shop in the nineties, that must have happened to me twenty times. I burned half of my mustache off once, working on a flooded/no start engine. No big deal as long as you have a fire extinguisher.
The tiny hot rod extinguishers that were popular here for a while are nearly worthless. I carry a bigger one, always in the p***enger compartment. If it's in the trunk it could be too late. I've never understood why people use carb cleaner or starting fluid to check for vacuum leaks. As a kid my dad taught me to do it with water and it works great. I'm glad your damage turned out minimal.
Having a fire extinguisher in the car is a great idea if it is mounted safety!!! However, if it is just loose in the car or not mounted safety it is a projectile that is going to cause more harm than good in the event of a highway accident. I have helped doing technical inspections on cars in the Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modifieds and we have made drivers remove improperly mounted fire extinguishers.
Hello, Well that is good that you look for safety issues. But, from the word of my brother, when reaching for that flip lid bracket that mounted the red extinguisher to the floor near the driver's seat, it had some difficulties. Number 1, was that flipping the lever over and then trying to slide out the red cannister was too ***bersome. It took too long. The options were to steer, brake and put out a flaming blaze burning everything in sight, including his pants, jacket and him. After he decided he could not put out the fire with the extinguisher bolted to the floor and kept in place with the provided flip bracket, he decided it was safer for him to jump out going about 60 mph. (Eddie Grist said his family estimated our Willys was going about 60. The Grist Brothers chopped A/Gas Willys was on the exact spot on the return road where my brother jumped out.) But, those metal cannisters were clipped in place as per the rules at the time. 1960 The provided clip holders for the Element Extinguishers are well made and keep the unit secure. If anyone is worried about the safety and holding power of the clip, it does not come out if you hit it with your arm walking by the unit. They are secure and for us, safe. When new products come out, there are always naysayers and that the item does not conform to the standard red metal bottle. We have not used the units, and we hope we never have to use one. but, it is there for easy access and usefulness. Jnaki Most of those red metal bottles are clipped in place similar to our old metal cannister model. It takes strength to unclip and slide the metal red cannister unit out. That is too long of a time and all while trying to stop or steer the car or put out a flaming fire. My wife has practiced and it is simple and easy, if she is ever in a situation of putting out a fire. The modern solutions are all wonderful are ready for the modern racer. But, if those built in fire suppression systems now on the market were available, we would have purchased one back then.
Every old car or truck I own has a fire extinguisher in it. And both of my garages have larger fire extinguishers on the wall just in case. I've only used my car extinguisher once, and it wasn't for a car of mine. I was sitting in a burger place eating lunch in my car when a woman came out to start a '56 ford, and after cranking awhile I saw smoke coming out the edges of her hood. I jumped out and told her to stop cranking, as it was on fire. I opened the hood and quickly put the fire out. All she said was her husband was going to be mad about the mess. I told her he'd be a lot more unhappy if the whole car burned to the ground.
Another vote for the Element fire extinguisher. I keep one in each of my vehicles plus one in the house for kitchen fires. I love that they leave no residue. I even have one attached to my DJ equipment rig in case of an electrical fire!
All fixed. #5, #6 wires bad. New cap, rotor and wires. I guess it's true.....most carb problems are ignition!
Just read this thread last night while enjoying a bourbon not thinking I could add anything. Well about two hours ago I rolled out my son's OT mudding truck with a nasty BBC. Sitting in front of the garage door. Just finished some clutch and brake work and was checking the fluids. Started it up and was warming to get off the fast idle. As I was looking for leaks I saw a small fire on top of the starter behind the headers. Not sure if it was brush, leaves etc. but it was not getting smaller. I thought geez, I could grab a dry chemical extinguisher from the garage (I have six or so placed by doors, welder and so on) but I didn't want a big mess. So I had an open bottle of Prestone Antifreeze Concentrate sitting right next to me. Splashed it on the starter (and headers) and ****, instant fireball!! That lasted a few seconds. Grabbed the dry chemical and all was quiet instantly. I have worked around cars, trucks, heavy equipment for close to 60 years and it never occurred to me how flammable glycol (or maybe the oils that are in it) can be.
Glycol is an alcohol, just like methanol, ethanol, glycerol (a.k.a. glycerin) and many others. From what I remember of the experiments in chemistry cl*** the alcohols with shorter molecules burns best (methanol, ethanol...) and bigger molecules are less flammable, some only would catch fire with a wick, but given the right cir***stances they absolutely burn. As for ethanol, a situation of the type "I wonder what happens if..." on some party long ago showed that booze above about 30% alcohol burns pretty well. So even with two thirds water mixed in it isn't harmless.
Never heard of an Element Fire Extinguisher, so I immediately went to YouTube. I am officially underwhelmed.
Fire and Hotrod have a vicious connection...that was short of promotion for the modern tool above...they and can be useless if size or content be inferior to the fire burning...
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